Time for a little honesty.

[hermitstyle]

my wife was stopped and searched by the rudest agent( female) out of the Port of Miami in 2005. A couple of other agents who were watching what was happening looked at me and just shook their head.

 

Eventually said to me there was nothing they could do, but definately thought the agent was making it more difficult than it should have been.

 

I know they all have a job to do but be respectful. My wife did/said absolutely nothing to warrant her rudeness.

An agent being rude, yes, that's unfortunate, but for CWCruisers to call an agent a moron, after he stated he hoped he didn't ruin her day was uncalled for. I'm sure the CBP agents get more rude passengers than you might find rude agents

[MDSue]

I usually buy one nice piece of jewelry in a port (not the ship) store on every cruise. The jewelry is under the duty limit, but my collection has grown over the years and I like to take my jewelry with me when I cruise. I often wonder if I was pulled aside while going through customs how I would prove that the purchases were made on earlier cruises. I'm not sure how customs agents have any way to determine if a nice piece of jewelry is purchased on that trip unless they go searching for current reciepts.

So far customs has always been a breeze, but I don't make expensive onboard purchases so I probably don't draw any red flags.

[CWcruisers]

Jeez. the guy was just doing his job. No need to call him a moron. You even said that he said he hoped he hadn't ruined your day. It's not like he did it on purpose, and said "Oh, just let me see how I can ruin this person's day". Let's hope I never have to sail with you. Just by that comment, you sound like one of those people who is high and mighty and can't believe that some peon ruined your day....

 

I left a lot of details out of the story for simplicity sake, but we were chewed out by the customs officer for not staying together when we had no idea what was happening and why and my husband was not allowed back on the ship once he went through even though I had been held back. There were better ways, IMHO, of handling the situation other than making me feel like a criminal, which is exactly how I was treated. If I had been over my customs limit, I can understand, but to tell me that they ASSUMED I MIGHT be, well, we all know what happens when you assume, as you did about my character.

 

Your loss never sailing with me, I've been told I'm alot of fun.:)

[CWcruisers]

An agent being rude, yes, that's unfortunate, but for CWCruisers to call an agent a moron, after he stated he hoped he didn't ruin her day was uncalled for. I'm sure the CBP agents get more rude passengers than you might find rude agents

 

 

Hermitstyle, funny, my story was also in Miami, maybe you might see a pattern here.

 

I called him a moron on this board, not to his face. If that's what you thought I did, then again, it goes back to that whole assuming thing. I am a veteran and a business owner and a polite person and do not treat people rudely, even when they deserve it.

[FengShui@Sea]

An agent being rude, yes, that's unfortunate, but for CWCruisers to call an agent a moron, after he stated he hoped he didn't ruin her day was uncalled for. I'm sure the CBP agents get more rude passengers than you might find rude agents

 

I agree with CWCruisers - the agent was being a moron. Doing your job as a customs agent is having the skill to assess the credibility of the people you process, not assuming one major purchase means there were more that went undeclared. If they want to accuse you of being a liar they should have better reasoning than that.

 

On a side note the onboard shops are not owned or affiliated with Carnival. It is a completely independent commercial entity that simply pays Carnival to sell their items on their ships.

[CWcruisers]

I agree with CWCruisers - the agent was being a moron. Doing your job as a customs agent is having the skill to assess the credibility of the people you process, not assuming one major purchase means there were more that went undeclared. If they want to accuse you of being a liar they should have better reasoning than that.

 

 

 

Thank You FengShui.:)

[Texarribean Chick]

I usually buy one nice piece of jewelry in a port (not the ship) store on every cruise. The jewelry is under the duty limit, but my collection has grown over the years and I like to take my jewelry with me when I cruise. I often wonder if I was pulled aside while going through customs how I would prove that the purchases were made on earlier cruises. I'm not sure how customs agents have any way to determine if a nice piece of jewelry is purchased on that trip unless they go searching for current reciepts.

So far customs has always been a breeze, but I don't make expensive onboard purchases so I probably don't draw any red flags.

 

I do not make expensive "on board" purchases either. I like you have a collection over the years that I choose to take with me. One year, I had a "new" agent in Florida (female) who pulled me aside (probably because I do WEAR a lot of jewelry) and thoroughly searched my jewelry bag (which I carry with me in my carry on). She literally accused me of purchasing every single piece I had with me on this trip and I was trying to "get away" with not paying the duty. Ironically, this was the first trip that I had NOT purchased any jewelry. She wanted to seize my luggage to search it and find "receipts" for all that I was carrying. Needless to say, the line behind us to exit and go through customs was getting quite backed up and another older, more experienced agent came over to us to find out what the problem was. When we and she explained his exact response to her was, "oh good grief. You cannot prove anything - let them go!" We proceeded. :D

[beachbum53]

I'm sure I speak for a lot of fellow cruisers when I say thank God you don't have to declare how many D.O.D's you've had while on your cruise!:eek::D

[Texarribean Chick]

I'm sure I speak for a lot of fellow cruisers when I say thank God you don't have to declare how many D.O.D's you've had while on your cruise!:eek::D

 

I've actually said that to a customs agent one time. He asked if we had any alcohol to declare. I said, "in a bottle?" hahaha. We both had a great laugh!

[crzycick]

How much do you pay when you go over on alcohol? Is it a set fee, percent based on amount paid? I've noticed that usually the alcohol on base is cheaper, the same, or barely higher than on board and it's also tax free so I've only bought 1 bottle of liquor on the last 3 cruises. I'm just curious if we ever happen to find something we want how much the charge might be if we buy more than 1 each. Because the extra fee could likely make it cost more than buying it on base.

 

 

My last trip was unexpected, I "signed up" 12 days before my inlaws were set to cruise. It was only 4 days to Key West and Cozumel, my 3rd time to Cozumel. I didn't have money to buy stuff and I already have been to Cozumel. I did buy some sandals in Key West but that's the US so I didn't need to declare. My declarations page was empty, I hadn't bought anything on board or in Cozumel and I was so afraid I was going to get yelled at for lying. Of course I was extra concerned because on my previous cruise I was harassed and yelled at for breaking the rules and going on the cruise illegally because I didn't have a passport, despite the fact that I had printed documents proving that a birth certificate and ID was sufficient.

[ltcal94]

Just reading between the lines a bit, it seems that the common thread in all of these is that the poster appears to not have taken advantage of the opportunity to "declare & pay" their duty while on board before debarkation.

 

On all cruises I have been on they announce that a customs agent will be on board to review their declaration if you have exceeded your duty free limits. We brought back 8 liters of liquor and since the duty was less than $10 , they waived the duty and told us to have a nice day. Apparently they will waive some duty if it costs more to process than what they will recover. I have exceeded my exemptions on several occasions and the duty I have paid was reasonable and usually reduced from what I expected to pay. I have also witnessed other passengers duty waived or reduced. Since you have had your declaration reviewed and marked, they will waive you right through once you are dockside.

 

Once the ship is cleared my guess is that they match up the list of the passengers that voluntary declared in advance to those that made large purchases. Obviously, they need to process several thousand people as quickly as possible. If you haven't declared onboard and if you exceeded your personal /family exemption it will make it more difficult for them and IMHO, they may scrutinize it more than normal. Obviously, if you haven't exceeded your limits it should be a non issue.

[kbmeow]

We always put what we buy on the form and claim. truthfully no one ever has nothing to claim. I mean a post card etc.. we just went to europe and I got into a argument with MIL because she says if it is under the allotment you do not have to put anything on the customs form. I said you did. I did ours my way and she hers . But on the cruise stuff. Although not stopped by customs ( we always have too many bottle we bring home).

 

We have had issues with stupid agents. He even threated us that if we didn;t shut up he would put us at the back of the line ( we were fastracked because we took the shuttle bus. There was a family with a crying baby and she was in a different line agent 1 said lady could go in our line. Well lady was almost up to the person and agent 2 came by and tried to send her to the end of the line as she didn't belong. We said agent 1 said it was OK. Well he decided he wanted to be all that. And said I am here now and do not care. We started to stand up for the lady as did half the line until he threatened all of us that he would send us to the back of the line (abuse of power) . My husband knows that he can not do that legally. So we ask for his badge info and name etc. he tries to blow us off and is more rude. My husband pulls out his federal DOT badge and puts it around his neck... We got a apology, the lady was allowed in line, we took his name and badge and a email was sent outlining how they should retrain. He changed his attitude when he found out that the people in line can actually do something to his job.. ) so yes there are morons working for them. And I understood what that lady meant. They separated them, They let him take and do all the stuff with the luggage and they should have told her and her husband to wait and get the luggage and bring it to them

[hermitstyle]

I left a lot of details out of the story for simplicity sake, but we were chewed out by the customs officer for not staying together when we had no idea what was happening and why and my husband was not allowed back on the ship once he went through even though I had been held back. There were better ways, IMHO, of handling the situation other than making me feel like a criminal, which is exactly how I was treated. If I had been over my customs limit, I can understand, but to tell me that they ASSUMED I MIGHT be, well, we all know what happens when you assume, as you did about my character.

 

Your loss never sailing with me, I've been told I'm alot of fun.:)

See how the story changes when you actually state the full story of what happened? I'm sure that you and your husband filled out one customs card, your husband wasn't with you, which is probably why the customs agent chewed you out. The agent shouldn't have chewed you out, he should have been professional about it - but if you are traveling on one customs card, then your husband should have stayed with you. He could have waited for you on/at the end of the gang plank? I'm sure they don't take you off through some secret magical door at the other end of the ship. Sounds like it's a 50/50 fault here. People lie on their customs forms all the time. It's not like everyone is perfectly honest on their customs forms. So yes, sometimes CBP agents might have to assume or think that someone who purchased a high end piece or jewelry, or large amounts of jewelry might either be under-declaring or not declaring all purchases. It's a minor inconvenience - why let something like that ruin your day or end to your cruise? Certainly wouldn't stop me. They have a job to do, granted he wasn't as professional as he could or should have been, but it's no skin off my back and I don't let petty things like that get to me. Hell, my friend got stopped when crossing from Canada to USA because the agent though he smelled weed on her. She doesn't smoke, never has, is asthmatic, so she can't smoke anyways, but the agent was insistent. After about a 5 minute delay, she was on her way. It didn't ruin her day, and in fact, we laugh about it, because it's kind of funny that they would question a short 23 year old girl, who looked nothing like anyone who would do any type of drugs.

[hermitstyle]

Hermitstyle, funny, my story was also in Miami, maybe you might see a pattern here.

 

I called him a moron on this board, not to his face. If that's what you thought I did, then again, it goes back to that whole assuming thing. I am a veteran and a business owner and a polite person and do not treat people rudely, even when they deserve it.

I'm a veteran too...would you like a cookie? Your veteran status doesn't matter, but like I said in my previous post, maybe you should have stated the full story instead of the cliffs notes that did not include WHY you called the agent a moron. Maybe then I might have agreed with you - or at least not said anything about it at all. Why should I assume that the agent was a moron if you lead for no reason in your original post that he in fact was acting like a moron? Attention to detail, shipmate....

[jetskier]

DUTY-FREE means the shop does not have to pay a duty on it to import it into the country that it is selling it from. It does not mean that YOU do not have to pay a duty/fee/tax on it upon importing it into the US. It is a marketing gimmick to get you to buy.

 

The cruiseship is considered a foreign country and is required to report purchases that are being "imported" into the US. There was a post on John's FB page this past week where a guy paid for a large part of his gift shop purchase on his credit card instead of his S&S card. Because it was still a purchase onboard, it was reported. Apparently he didnt report it on his declarations and claimed he was treated like a criminal at Custom's.

 

For the person asking about liquor, the duty is around $3.09 per liter.

Dave

[PaulMedik]

........

I was just wondering if anyone had an agent really say to them glad you had a good time and let you through without paying the duty tax.

 

.............

 

 

luckyoldsun,

 

We've had about every type of ICE inspector. Our last one didn't even glance at our claims; he just said 'welcome to the US.'

[stormynow]

On the western carib cruises always over on the alcohol purchases. Customs just roll their eyes & say have a good day.

[madaamt]

Wow $300.00 I guess we have been very lucky. We have never even had them look at our paperwork. Just a welcome home & have a great day.

[pianogal83]

Got off the Liberty today. The dear wife bought some jewelry from the shops on the boat. Carnival employees told us it is best to be honest when filling out your Homeland Security declaration form. They told us most agents will tell you glad you had a good time and will let you through. Unfortunately we got the agent this morning who took his job way to serious and charged us full duty tax on the purchase.....$ 300.00 tax bill. Our porter who helped us with our luggage told us it must not be our day as he rarely witnesses what he saw today. I made the purchase and understand you have a chance of paying the full duty which is fine.

 

So the question I have is......is it worth it to be honest in filling out the form correctly.

 

Fess up and let here any other stories.

 

WOW!! We must have run into the same agent. We came through customs in Miami, off the Liberty, 2 weeks ago. The line we were in was moving very SLOWLY - at least 3 times slower than any of the others lines. We couldn't figure out why until we got to the front. The agent, was grilling almost everyone.

 

DH and I cruise often and rarely shop on our cruises. On the Liberty, I purchased a couple of costume jewelry items (I'm talking $10 items!) from the ship's gift store, a couple of T shirts and some very inexpensive souvenirs in Cozumel. All totaled around $140 of which we itemized individually on the declarations document.

 

The custome's agent looked at the declaration page and our passports, then said, "You didn't buy any jewelry?" I answered, yes, a couple of cheap costume pieces. Then he eyed the jewelry I was wearing, and said "You didn't buy that jewelry on the cruise?" I answered in the negative..but it didn't satisfy him. He continued..."Where did you get it, how long have you had it, etc."

 

Now the only thing I was wearing was my wedding rings, a black onyx ring on my right hand and a cheap watch!! It was unbelievable! He kept asking questions, seemingly trying to back me into a corner about jewelry I've owned for years! I could tell DH was beginning to get irritated and he's a BIG guy - 6'4" and 260 pounds - most of which is muscle. He stepped in and asked what this was about and what the problem was, in a controlled voice but one that definitely meant business. The guy, just said, OK, and waved us through. No, have a nice day, nothing.

 

I really wasn't worried because I had not done anything, but he was so insistent that I had purchased my jewelry on the trip, I was getting nervous, thinking how am I going to prove that I didn't?

 

I wouldn't call him a moron, I would call him an obnoxious jerk. Thankfully, this has been the ONLY time something like this has happened - most of the time, they check our ID, our form and wave us through with a smile.:)

[Relayer]

Don't be surprised if customs enforces the rules. Kinda like when CCL enforces the terms of your cruise contract

[crzycick]

We always put what we buy on the form and claim. truthfully no one ever has nothing to claim. I mean a post card etc.. we just went to europe and I got into a argument with MIL because she says if it is under the allotment you do not have to put anything on the customs form. I said you did. I did ours my way and she hers . But on the cruise stuff. Although not stopped by customs ( we always have too many bottle we bring home).

 

 

That's not true. I legitimately had nothing to claim. I had already been to Cozumel twice before and had no desire to purchase anything on the ship or in that port. The only thing I did buy was some sandals in Key West which is in the US, was already taxed, and did not need to be claimed.

[crzycick]

 

For the person asking about liquor, the duty is around $3.09 per liter.

Dave

 

 

Thanks! I rarely drink at all and I don't drink anything expensive. The cheap stuff I've found is usually within a few bucks of the price I can get it on base, sometimes cheaper, sometimes more. Duty would pretty much offset any savings or even make it more expensive. And definitely not worth the hassle of transporting it home.

[KrystalWaters]

One thing ive learned the US and state goverment are gonna collect taxes anyway they can think of... They tax our income our food houses cars gas anything else you buy.. They even wanna tax the people driving smart cars.. Since they loose out on the gas tax... Tax our liquor and our smokes.. Then when a loved one dies they have the death tax... Tax tax tax...... While our congressmen and senators sit on there lazy butts giving themselves pay raises while the rest of us Pick up the extra tax bill

 

LIKE!:D

 

CC needs to get on the ball and get us a "Like" button:D

[mikel24m]

Got off the Liberty today. The dear wife bought some jewelry from the shops on the boat. Carnival employees told us it is best to be honest when filling out your Homeland Security declaration form. They told us most agents will tell you glad you had a good time and will let you through. Unfortunately we got the agent this morning who took his job way to serious and charged us full duty tax on the purchase.....$ 300.00 tax bill. Our porter who helped us with our luggage told us it must not be our day as he rarely witnesses what he saw today. I made the purchase and understand you have a chance of paying the full duty which is fine.

 

So the question I have is......is it worth it to be honest in filling out the form correctly.

 

Fess up and let here any other stories.

 

We had the same thing happen.I have learned to never bring a watch box home or my sign and sail bill.Lesson learned.I know they have a job to do and we should have claimed but to make my wife take her engagement ring off and "confiscate" it and make her cry just to extort money from us is pretty sad.It was funny what I paid and what they valued it at was quite different ,they had the value at all most double to get more money

[mikel24m]

DUTY-FREE means the shop does not have to pay a duty on it to import it into the country that it is selling it from. It does not mean that YOU do not have to pay a duty/fee/tax on it upon importing it into the US. It is a marketing gimmick to get you to buy.

 

The cruiseship is considered a foreign country and is required to report purchases that are being "imported" into the US. There was a post on John's FB page this past week where a guy paid for a large part of his gift shop purchase on his credit card instead of his S&S card. Because it was still a purchase onboard, it was reported. Apparently he didnt report it on his declarations and claimed he was treated like a criminal at Custom's.

 

For the person asking about liquor, the duty is around $3.09 per liter.

Dave

 

wow thanks for the info ,Why would anyone buy jewelery onboard.I got my watch for 40% off plus no tax but gold and gemstones are really pricey onboard.I know I overpaid for my wifes ring but wanted her to have it anyway so I bought it